The department of Microbiology and the department of Medicine, SMIMS held a CME on Human Melioidosis on 24th June 2023 at SMIMS. The programme was graced by Dr Harpreet Kaur, Scientist G, ICMR, New Delhi, as the chief guest and Dr Chiranjay Mukhopadhya, Professor, Department of Microbiology, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal as the guest of honour. The CME was held under the patronage of Dr Muralidhar V Pai, Dean SMIMS.
Dr Luna Adhikari, Professor & Head, Department of Microbiology and Dr Mona Dhakal, Professor, Department of Medicine, SMIMS were the resource persons for the programme.
The programme was attended by Principal Investigators and Co-Investigators of the project entitled “Mission – ICMR’s Task Force Study on Melioidosis” from KMC, Manipal, Karnataka; RMRC NE, Dibrugarh, Assam; Assam Medical College, Dibrugarh, Assam; Civil Hospital, Aizawl, Mizoram; Regional Institute of Medical Science, Imphal, Manipur; Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences, Gangtok, Sikkim; Tripura Medical College, Agartala, Tripura; Tomo Riba Institute of Health and Medical Sciences, Naharlagun, Arunachal Pradesh; NEIGRIHMS, Shillong, Meghalaya; AIIMS, Jodhpur, Rajasthan; AIIMS, Bhopal, M.P; Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi, Kerala and Vardhman Mahavir Medical College & Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi.
Faculty members of SMIMS belonging to the Department of Medicine, Department of Surgery, Department of Orthopeadics, Department of Dermatology, Department of Radiodiagnosis and Department of Microbiology also attended the programme.
The participants were sensitized through the CME about Melioidosis which is a soil borne infectious disease of humans that is endemic in tropical and sub tropical areas. Even though the disease is still considered a rare disease in India, over the years cases have been reported from different parts of the country. The reasons for the under diagnosis of Melioidosis is multifactorial. The reported cases in India are apparently sporadic and inconsistent mainly due to lack of awareness about its manifestation among clinicians and scarce laboratory support.
The CME was primarily organised to sensitize the clinicians and microbiologist on the various aspects, including diagnosis and treatment, of the said disease.
